OUR DIRECTOR ON THE GLOBAL WOMEN'S INSTITUTE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL

14/03/2017

The Global Women's Institute Leadership Council Five Year Anniversary Celebration

Photo: The Global Women's Institute

Over the last few months, the Director of The Equality Institute, Dr Emma Fulu, twice visited the United States whilst fulfilling her role on the Leadership Council of The Global Women’s Institute (GWI) at The George Washington University in Washington DC.

The GWI is a university-wide initiative that aims to advance gender equality through research, education and action for change as well as through equipping the next generation of leaders to take on the challenge of improving conditions for women and girls globally.

Dr Fulu is part of a diverse group of eminent global leaders, practitioners, educators, advocates and intellectuals who collectively advise, strengthen and promote GWI’s program, research, and activities within The GWI’s Leadership Council. Dr Fulu’s exceptional expertise contributes to efforts to secure human rights and women’s empowerment, promote gender aware international development and foreign policy, advance equality globally, and prevent violence against women and girls.

GWI’s Leadership Council convenes twice a year; the inaugural meeting took place in December 2016. In addition to the meeting, Dr Fulu took part in a panel discussion and presented the next steps for the violence prevention field, including how to translate evidence into action for programs at the local level, and how to adapt work in different contexts including in the United States. She also attended GWI’s Leadership Council Five Year Anniversary Celebration, where council members and beneficiaries celebrated the council's achievements in its short yet prolific existence.

Co-Director of Raising Voices Lori Michau, Executive Director of the Center for Domestic Violence Prevention Tina Musuya, Director of the Equality InstituteDr Emma Fulu, and Director of the Global Women's Institute Dr Mary Ellsberg at the Global Women's Institute Leadership Council Five Year Anniversary Celebration.

Photo: The Global Women's Institute

Then in January, Dr Fulu attended the Global Women’s Institute Expert Consultation Meeting in a knowledge transfer exercise. Expert gender-based violence practitioners, policy-makers and researchers presented case studies from around the world with the aim of identifying best practices for research, monitoring and evaluation of gender-based violence in refugee settings. The meeting covered the current state of the research, innovative partnerships in conflict and post-conflict settings, safety and ethics challenges, lessons learned in program monitoring and evaluation, and identifying and creating tools and methodologies for the future. GWI invited policy maker and practitioner perspectives for a comprehensive and in-depth discussion.

The increased vulnerability of women and girls to experience gender-based violence during humanitarian emergencies and displacement places an urgency on action. Based on the lessons learned documented through the meeting GWI will be developing a manual to support more effective, ethical and safe research on gender-based violence in conflict and post conflict settings.